Interesting Environmental Facts

Interesting Environmental Facts

Human Influenced Facts If just 25% of U.S. families used 10 fewer plastic bags a month, we would save over 2.5 BILLION bags a year.   On the average, the 140 million cars in America are estimated to travel almost 4 billion miles in a day, and according to the Department of Transportation, they use over 200 million gallons of gasoline doing it. Every year we throw away 24 million tons of leaves and grass. Leaves alone account for 75% of our solid waste in the fall. Over 100 pesticide ingredients are suspected to cause birth defects, cancer, and gene mutations. Every ton of recycled office paper saves 380 gallons of oil. About 1% of U.S. landfill space is full of disposable diapers, which take 500 years to decompose. Energy saved from one recycled aluminum can will operate a TV set for 3 hours, and is the equivalent to half a can of gasoline. Glass produced from recycled glass instead of raw materials reduces related air pollution by 20%, and water pollution by 50%. Americans use 50 million tons of paper annually -- consuming more than 850 million trees. Homeowners use up to 10 times more toxic chemicals per acre than farmers. By turning down your central heating thermostat one degree, fuel consumption is cut by as much as 10%. Insulating your attic reduces the amount of energy loss in most houses by up to 20%. Enough glass was thrown away in 1990 to fill the Twin Towers (1,350 feet high) of New York's World Trade Center every two weeks. One ton of carbon dioxide that is released in the air can be prevented by replacing every 75 watt light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs. Many banks lent large sums of money to developing nations. In order to pay those debts plus interest many nations have turned to the mining of their natural resources as a source of financial aid. Every day 40,000 children die from preventable diseases. The public transportation that we have is a wreck. The U.S. continues to promote and invest in private car travel rather than public transportation. The human population of the world is expected to be nearly tripled by the year 2100. A three percent annual growth rate will result in the doubling of consumption and production of food and other products in 25 short years.  The amount of motor vehicles that are expected to be operated will increase 15 million a year until at least 2010. The world's per capita grain production has been on the downfall since 1985 despite the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Already a train system has been developed (back in 1987) which is based on magnetic levitation and causes minimal pollution. These versions of a train are already in use in several countries. Fibre optics, made of glass, are being used to replace copper cables throughout the world. The uncontrolled fishing that is allowed has reduced the amount of commercial species. Some species, up to one-tenth of their original population. Every day 50 to 100 species of plants and animals become extinct as their habitat and human influences destroy them. The Earth Deserts are advancing and taking over the land. In Mali the desert has taken over about 220 miles in as few as 20 years. Deserts can be repelled, by developing tree-planting projects, having better agriculture and by managing the land better. However, governments still are reluctant to fund anti-desertification, despite horrific droughts that have occurred in recent years. The Earth has been around for 4.6 billion years. Scaling this time down to 46 years we have been around for 4 hours and our Industrial Revolution began just 1 minute ago. During this short time period we have ransacked the planet for ways to get fuels and raw materials, have been the cause of extinction of an unthinkable amount of plants and animals, and have multiplied our population to that of a plague. Despite all of the damage we have caused the environment most of it is reversible. We can restore habitats and return species to them; clean rivers; renovate buildings; replenish the topsoil, replant forests. However, these activities do not relieve the worst symptoms of the damage. We still have to fix the source of these problems, us and our vision that we must progress. The Rainforest In Peninsular Malaysia, more tree species are found in 125 acres of Tropical Forest than in the entire North America. In Peru a single bush may contain more ant species than in the British Isles. A study has shown that there are possibly over 30 million species of insects dwelling in the canopies of tropical forests. 63,000 square miles of Rainforests are being destroyed each year. Rainforests higher than 3,000 feet above sea level are called cloud forests. Already over half of the world's tropical forests have been lost. Madagascar is the home to a rainforest where 60 percent of it's 12,000 different plant species are unique to that island. When you visit a pharmacist, one in every four purchases will have come from a tropical forest. Medicine produced in tropical forests bring in commercially 30 billion dollars a year. Large areas of South and Central America are cleared and burned for cattle ranching. This is so that farmers can provide cheap beef to consumers in the West. Every year approximately four billion tons of carbon accumulates in the air each year, about 30% of this comes directly from the continued burning of the rainforests. More than anything else, rainforest is destroyed by peasant farmers. However, the responsibility for this lies largely with the governments who fail to promote land reform and sustainable agricultural practices as an alternative to forest clearance. Greater than a quarter of our rainforest is in Brazil. Interesting Animal Facts Penguins live only in the Southern Hemisphere and never in the Northern Hemisphere. A single porcupine is known to kill 100 trees in one winter. It uses it's sharp claws to climb a tree, sits on a limb to gnaw away at the bark and twigs and then stuffs them all into its mouth at once. Because of it's liking for bark, the porcupine causes much damage to forests. A scallop moves by sucking water into its shell and then squirting it out suddenly. It likes to wander around and this gives it enough force to push it in front in a zig zag manner. A male garibaldi damselfish attract females for mating by covering a rock with a thick layer of alga. A male which clean off a rock to allow only algae to live have a higher chance of mating. The algae is also used to protect the eggs of the fish. To prevent the nest from getting soaked, the rare white-chinned swift, which nests behind the waterfalls of Latin America plant pieces of moss in the nest which then grow and reinforce the nest. A porcupine loves salt so much that it would walk into a camp and gnaw on anything that has been touched by salt or even by perspiring hands. Despite having a shell of armour for the body, an armadillo has teeth that do not have enamel and thus have very soft teeth. It can only eat soft food such as ants, termites, grubs and bugs. The tip of an elephant's trunk is so sensitive and flexible that it can pick up a pin. If a mole does not find food within 12 hours, it will die. Its chief food consists of insects and earthworms. A male nightingale stops singing when its eggs have hatched so as not to attract unnecessary attention to the nest. However he gives short calls to tell the female that all is well or danger is approaching. Bolas spiders snare moths by producing chemicals similar to pheromones used by several species of female moths to attract mates. The webbed feet of the stormy petrel enable it to 'walk' on water. It spends almost its entire life over the ocean and only comes to land to breed. If a storm arises, they can't walk on water and are forced to remain in the air all day and night. Some giant land turtles are able to bellow. No one knows what happens to the seahorse during winter as it is only seen during the summertime. There is a species in the river Nile in Egypt that avoids its enemies by swimming with its black belly up and its white back down. The arctic tern, a migrating bird is able to travel back and forth as much as 22000 miles in a course of a year. The Amazon army ants raid nests of certain black ants and carry back to cocoons and larvae to their own homes. When the cocoons hatch, they will become the slaves of these army ants and do all their work. The nest that an osprey is a huge and attractive one which is unhidden from sight and the bird adds new material each year to the same old nest. The nest can weigh up to 450 kilograms. The Open Range The Grasslands cover one-fifth of the land on Earth. The majority of grasslands are found around the tropics. Natural grasslands are; the savannahs of Africa, the North American prairies, and in southern USSR-the dry steppes. Semi-natural grasslands are where the forest has been cleared and grazing, cutting or burning maintains the grass cover. Tending to be more productive most South and South-East Asian grasslands are semi-natural grasslands. The temperate grassland soil contains a lot of organic material (more than the tropical)

Top Ten Most Polluted Places in the World, 2007

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Top Ten Most Polluted Places in the World, 2007

Top Ten Most Polluted Places in the World, 2007

This Top Ten list was compiled by the Technical Advisory Board of the Blacksmith Institute, an environmental NGO based in New York. The criteria used in ranking the include the size of the affected population, the severity of the toxins involved, and reliable evidence of health problems associated with the pollution.

• Sumgayit, Azerbaijan
  Forty factories that manufacture industrial and agricultural chemicals release 70-120,000 tons of detergents and pesticides into the air every year. Untreated sewage and mercury-contaminated sludge are dumped arbitrarily.
   
• Linfen, China 
  Severe air and water pollution from the coal, steel, and tar industries.
   
• Tianying, China 
  One of the largest lead production bases in China with average lead concentrations in the air and soils 8.5 to 10 times national health standards.
   
• Sukinda, India 
  Twelve chromite ore mines dump untreated water into the river, and over 30 million tons of waste rock have been dumped in the valley's riverbanks, which has resulted in severe water contamination.
   
• Vapi, India 
  There are over 1,00 industries covering over a thousand acres in the region that has contaminated local produce.
   
• La Oroya, Peru 
  Lead, copper, zinc, and sulfur dioxide from mining have contaminative the town.
   
• Dzerzhinsk, Russia 
  A major Russian chemical manufacturing center, which produced Sarin and other deadly poisons during the cold war. Between 1930-1998, nearly 300,000 tons of chemical waste were improperly disposed of.
   
• Norilsk, Russia 
  An industrial city in Siberia founded in 1935 as a slave labor camp, Norilsk is home of the world's largest heavy metals smelting complex and is plagued by severe air pollution.
   
• Chernobyl, Ukraine 
  The world's worst nuclear disaster took place on April 26, 1986. The 19-mile exclusion zone around the plant remains uninhabitable.
   
• Kabwe, Zambia 
  The country's second largest city is severely contaminated with lead from the mining industry.

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Human Body Facts

Human Body Facts

Body Facts

• In one day, a human sheds 10 billion skin flakes. This amounts to approximately two kilograms in a year.
• Every square inch of the human body has about 19,000,000 skin cells.
• Approximately 25% of all scald burns to children are from hot tap water and is associated with more deaths than with any other liquid.
• Forty-one percent of women apply body and hand moisturizer at least three times a day.
• Every hour one billion cells in the body must be replaced.
• The world record for the number of body piercing on one individual is 702, which is held by Canadian Brent Moffat.
• The small intestine in the human body is about 2 inches around, and 22 feet long.
• The human body makes anywhere from 1 to 3 pints of saliva every 24 hours.
• The human body has approximately 37,000 miles of capillaries.
• The aorta, which is largest artery located in the body, is about the diameter of a garden hose.
• The adult human body requires about 88 pounds of oxygen daily.
• It is very common for babies in New Zealand to sleep on sheepskins. This is to help them gain weight faster, and retain their body heat.
• An average women has 17 square feet of skin. When a women is in her ninth month of pregnancy she has 18.5 square feet of skin.
• The width of your armspan stretched out is the length of your whole body.
• 41% of women apply body or hand moisturizer a minimum three times a day.
• A human's small intestine is 6 meters long.
• There are as many hairs per square inch on your body as a chimpanzee. You don't see all of them because most are too fine and light to be noticed.
• Every hour one billion cells in the body must be replaced.
• Dead cells in the body ultimately go to the kidneys for excretion.
• By walking an extra 20 minutes every day, an average person will burn off seven pounds of body fat in an year.
• The human body is 75% water.

Heart Facts

• Women hearts beat faster than men.
• Three years after a person quits smoking, there chance of having a heart attack is the same as someone who has never smoked before.
• The human heart weighs less than a pound.
• The human heart can create enough pressure that it could squirt blood at a distance of thirty feet.
• The first open heart surgery was performed by Dr. Daniel Hall Williams in 1893.
• Scientists have discovered that the longer the ring finger is in boys the less chance they have of having a heart attack.
• The right lung of a human is larger than the left one. This is because of the space and placement of the heart.
• The human heart beast roughly 35 million times a year.
• Olive oil can help in lowering cholesterol levels and decreasing the risk of heart complications.
• In a lifetime, the heart pumps about one million barrels of blood.
• In 1967, the first successful heart transplant was performed in Cape Town, South Africa.
• People that suffer from gum disease are twice as likely to have a stroke or heart attack.
• Most heart attacks occur between the hours of 8 and 9 AM.
• The human heart beast roughly 35 million times a year.
• At one time it was thought that the heart controlled a person's emotions.

Brain Facts

• Women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression than men in the United States.
• The human brain has about 100,000,000,000 (100 billion) neurons.
• From all the oxygen that a human breathes, twenty percent goes to the brain.
• People who ride on roller coasters have a higher chance of having a blood clot in the brain.
• Once a human reaches the age of 35, he/she will start losing approximately 7,000 brain cells a day. The cells will never be replaced.
• It is not possible to tickle yourself. The cerebellum, a part of the brain, warns the rest of the brain that you are about to tickle yourself. Since your brain knows this, it ignores the resulting sensation.
• A women from Berlin Germany has had 3,110 gallstones taken out of her gall bladder.
• In America, the most common mental illness is Anxiety Disorders.
• Your brain is 80% water.
• Your brain is move active and thinks more at night than during the day.

Bones Facts

• The smallest bone in the human body is the stapes bone which is located in the ear.
• There are 54 bones in your hands including the wrists.
• The only bone fully grown at birth is located in the ear.
• The human face is made up of 14 bones.
• The chances of getting a cavity is higher if candy is eaten slowly throughout the day compared to eating it all at once and then brushing your teeth.
• If an identical twin grows up without having a certain tooth, the other twin will most likely also grow up with that tooth missing.
• Humans are born with 300 bones in their body, however when a person reaches adulthood they only have 206 bones. This occurs because many of them join together to make a single bone.
• Gardening is said to be one of the best exercises for maintaining healthy bones.
• Enamel is hardest substance in the human body.
• Although the outsides of a bone are hard, they are generally light and soft inside. They are about 75% water.
• Adult human bones account for 14% of the body's total weight.
• In 2000 babies are born with a tooth that is already visible.
• Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails!
• Your thigh bone is stronger than concrete.
• The strongest bone in your body is the femur (thighbone), and it's hollow!                             

Blood Facts

• Two million red blood cells die every second.
• There are approximately 100,000 miles of blood vessels in the human body.
• Seven percent of a humans body weight is made up of blood.
• In the early nineteenth century some advertisements claimed that riding the carousel was good for the circulation of blood.
• Each day 400 gallons of recycled blood are pumped through the kidneys.
• By donating just one pint of blood, four lives can be saved.
• Blood is such a good stain that Native Americans used it for paint.
• The kidneys filter over 400 gallons of blood each day.
• The average life span of a single red blood cell is 120 days.
• Blood accounts for about 8% of a human's body weight.
• A woman has approximately 4.5 liters of blood in her body, while men have 5.6 liters.
• Your blood takes a very long trip through your body. If you could stretch out all of a human's blood vessels, they would be about 60,000 miles long. That's enough to go around the world twice.
• Half your body’s red blood cells are replaced every seven days.
• If all the blood vessels in your body were laid end to end, they would reach about 60,000 miles.

Eyes Facts

• We should never put anything in or near our eyes, unless we have a reason to use eye drops. We would only do that if our doctor or parent told us to use them.
• Blinking helps to wash tears over our eyeballs. That keeps them clean and moist. Also, if something is about to hit our eye, we will blink automatically.
• Our body has some natural protection for our eyes. Our eyelashes help to keep dirt out of our eyes. Our eyebrows are made to keep sweat from running into our eyes.
• Our eyes are very important to us, and we must protect them. We don't want dirt, sand, splinters or even fingers to get in our eyes. We don't want our eyes to get scratched or poked. That could damage our sight!
• The study of the iris of the eye is called iridology.
• The shark cornea has been used in eye surgery, since its cornea is similar to a human cornea.
• The number one cause of blindness in adults in the United States is diabetes.
• The eyeball of a human weighs approximately 28 grams.
• The eye of a human can distinguish 500 shades of the gray.
• The cornea is the only living tissue in the human body that does not contain any blood vessels.
• The conjunctiva is a membrane that covers the human eye.
• Sailors once thought that wearing a gold earring would improve their eyesight.
• Research has indicated that a tie that is on too tight cam increase the risk of glaucoma in men.
• People generally read 25% slower from a computer screen compared to paper.
• Men are able to read fine print better than women can.
• In the United States, approximately 25,000 eye injuries occur that result in the person becoming totally blind.
• All babies are colour blind when they are born.
• A human eyeball weighs an ounce.
• If the lens in our eye doesn't work quite right, we can get glasses to help us see. Glasses have lenses in them that work with our eye's own lens to help us see better.
• Babies' eyes do not produce tears until the baby is approximately six to eight weeks old.
• The reason why your nose gets runny when you are crying is because the tears from the eyes drain into the nose.
• The most common injury caused by cosmetics is to the eye by a mascara wand.
• Some people start to sneeze if they are exposed to sunlight or have a light shined into their eye.
• The highest recorded speed of a sneeze is 165 km per hour.
• It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
• The space between your eyebrows is called the Glabella.
• Inside our eye, at the back, is a part called the "retina." On the retina are cells called "rods" and "cones." These rods and cones help us to see colors and light.
• Just behind the pupil is a lens. It is round and flat. It is thicker toward the middle.
• Over the front of our eye is a clear covering called the "conjunctiva."
• The white part of our eye is called the "sclera." At the front, the sclera becomes clear and is called the "cornea."
• Around the pupil is a colored muscle called the "iris." Our eyes may be BLUE, BROWN, GREEN, GRAY OR BLACK, because that is the color of the iris.
• Our eyes have many parts. The black part on the front of our eye is called the "pupil." It is really a little hole that opens into the back part of our eyes.
• Your eyes blinks over 10,000,000 times a year!

Mouth Facts

• In a month, a fingernail grows an eighth of an inch.
• People whose mouth has a narrow roof are more likely to snore. This is because they have less oxygen going through their nose.
• While sleeping, one man in eight snores, and one in ten grinds his teeth.
• It takes food seven seconds to go from the mouth to the stomach via the esophagus.

Tongue Facts

• Close to fifty percent of the bacteria in the mouth lives on the surface of our tongue.
• There are approximately 9,000 taste buds on the tongue.
• Your tongue has 3,000 taste buds.
• 85% of the population can curl their tongue into a tube.                                                              

Hair Facts

• On average, a man spends about five months of his life shaving.
• On average, a hair strand's life span is five and a half years.
• On average redheads have 90,000 hairs. People with black hair have about 110,000 hairs.
• Next to bone marrow, hair is the fastest growing tissue in the human body.
• In a lifetime, an average man will shave 20,000 times.
• Humans have about the same number of hair follicles as a chimpanzee has.
• Hair will fall out faster on a person that is on a crash diet.
• The average human head weighs about eight pounds.
• The reason why some people get a cowlick is because the growth of their hair is in a spiral pattern, which causes the hair to either stand straight up, or goes to a certain angle.
• The reason why hair turns gray as we age is because the pigment cells in the hair follicle start to die, which is responsible for producing "melanin" which gives the hair colour.
• The big toe is the foot reflexology pressure point for the head.
• The loss of eyelashes is referred to as madarosis.
• The longest human beard on record is 17.5 feet, held by Hans N. Langseth who was born in Norway in 1846.
• The fastest growing tissue in the human body is hair.
• The average human scalp has 100,000 hairs.
• Hair and fingernails are made from the same substance, keratin.
• Hair is made from the same substance as fingernails.
• Eyebrow hair lasts between 3-5 months before it sheds.
• The first hair dryer was a vacuum cleaner that was used for drying hair.
• A Russian man who wore a beard during the time of Peter the Great had to pay a special tax.
• Everyday approximately 35 meters of hair fiber is produced on the scalp of an adult.
• Brylcreem, which was created in 1929, was the first man's hair product.
• Ancient Egyptians used to think having facial hair was an indication of personal neglect.
• A survey done by Clairol 10 years ago came up with 46% of men stating that it was okay to color their hair. Now 66% of men admit to coloring their hair.
• A lifespan of an eyelash is approximately 150 days.

Diseases Facts

• People that use mobile phones are 2.5 time more likely to develop cancer in areas of the brain that are adjacent to the ear they use to talk on the mobile phone.
• Over 90% of diseases are caused or complicated by stress.
• Over 436,000 U.S. Troops were exposed to depleted uranium during the first Gulf war.
• On average, 90% of the people that have the disease Lupus are female.
• Many cancer patients that are treated with chemotherapy lose their hair. For some when the hair grows back, it can grow back a different colour, or be curly or straight.
• Diabetes is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., accounting for about 180,000 deaths per year.
• Chances of a women getting breast cancer are increased by excessive use of alcohol.
• A popular superstition is that if you put a piece of bread in a baby's crib, it will keep away diseases.
• A person that is struck by lightning has a greater chance of developing motor neurons disease.
• Every year in the U.S., there are 178,000 new cases of lung cancer.
• Every three minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer.
• Asthma affects one in fifteen children under the age of eighteen.
• Every eleven minutes in the U.S., a woman dies of breast cancer.
• Due to eating habits in the USA, one in three children born in the year 2000 have a chance of getting type II diabetes.
• The oldest known disease in the world is leprosy.
• The number one cause of rabies in the United States are bats.
• Coughing can cause air to move through your windpipe faster than the speed of sound — over a thousand feet per second!
• A headache and inflammatory pain can be reduced by eating 20 tart cherries.
• The incidents of immune system diseases has increased over 200% in the last five years.
• The flu pandemic of 1918 killed over 20 million people.
• Each year in America there are about 300,000 deaths that can be attributed to obesity.
• Every three days a human stomach gets a new lining.
• The first owner of the Marlboro Company, Wayne McLaren, died of lung cancer.
• Soldiers disease is a term for morphine addiction. The Civil War produced over 400,000 morphine addicts.
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a disease caused by ticks.
• A person afflicted with hexadectylism has six fingers or six toes on one or both hands and feet.
• A study indicates that smokers are likely to die on average six and a half years earlier than non-smokers.
• A person who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day will on average lose two teeth every ten years.
• Lady Peseshet is known to be the world's first known female physician. She practiced during the time of the pyramids, which was the fourth dynasty.
• The DNA of humans is closer to a rat than a cat.
• Teenage suicide is the second cause of death in the state of Wisconsin.
• Teenage cosmetic surgeries nearly doubled in the USA between 1996 and 1998.
• Studies indicate that weightlifters working out in blue gyms can handle heavier weights.
• Studies indicate that listening to music is good for digestion.
• Studies indicate that epileptic patients that listen to Mozart's Piano Sonata can dramatically decrease their chance of a seizure.
• Lack of sleep can affect your immune system and reduce your ability to fight infections.
• It takes about three hours for food to be broken down in the human stomach.
• Over 40 million Americans have chronic bad breath.
• Carbon monoxide can kill a person in less than 15 minutes.
• Fourteen people die each day from asthma in the United States.
• Every day the human stomach produces about 2 liters of hydrochloric acid.
• Nearly half of all Americans suffer from symptoms of burnout.In humans, the epidermal layer of skin, which consists of many layers of skin regenerates every 27 days.
• Native Americans used to use pumpkin seeds for medicine.
• In ancient Egypt, doctors used jolts from the electric catfish to reduce the pain of arthritis.
• The lining of the a person's stomach is replaced every 36 hours.
• The purpose of tonsils is to destroy foreign substances that are swallowed or breathed in.
• In the United States, poisoning is the fourth leading cause of death among children.
• The risk of cardiovascular disease is twice as high in women that snore regularly compared to women who do not snore.
• The stomach of an adult can hold 1.5 liters of material.
• The stomach can break down goat's milk faster than the milk of a cow.
• The smoke that is produced by a fire kills more people than a burn does because of carbon monoxide and other dangerous gases.
• It has been medically been proven that laughter is an effective pain killer.
• Influenza caused over twenty-one million deaths in 1918.
• In a year, there are 60,000 trampoline injuries that occur in the U.S.
• Even if you eat food standing on your head, the food will still end up in your stomach.
• A person infected with the SARS virus, has a 95-98% chance of recovery.
• 3000 children die every day in Africa because of malaria.                                                           

Pregnancy Facts

• The world's first test tube twins are Stephen and Amanda Mays born June 5, 1981.
• Some people drink the urine of pregnant women to build up their immune system.
• The first known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by Egyptians in 2000 B.C.
• Every day, over 1,300 babies are born prematurely in the USA.
• During pregnancy, the average woman's uterus expands up to five hundred times its normal size.
• Changing a cat's litter box can be dangerous to pregnant women, as cat feces sometimes carry a parasite that can cause harm to the developing baby.
• A pregnant woman's dental health can affect her unborn child.
• May babies are on avearge 200 grams heavier than babies born in other months.
• When a women is pregnant, her senses are all heightened.
• Studies show that couples that smoke during the time of conception have a higher chance of having a girl compared to couples that do not smoke.
   

Sex Facts

• There are approximately 100 million acts of sexual intercourse each day.
• The sperm count of an average American male compared to thirty years ago is down thirty percent.
  An adult esophagus can range from 10 to 14 inches in length and is one inch in diameter.
• Men sweat more than women. This is because women can better regulate the amount of water they lose.
• The average amount of time spent kissing for a person in a lifetime is 20,160 minutes.
• The average adult has approximately six pounds of skin.
• Infants spend more time dreaming than adults do.
• In one day, adult lungs move about 10,000 liters of air.
• The condom made originally of linen was invented in the early 1500's. Casanova, the womanizer, used linen condoms.
• Sex burns about 70-120 calories for a 130 pound woman, and 77 to 155 calories for a 170 pound man every hour.
• Impotence is grounds for divorce in 26 U.S. states.
• There are approximately 45 billion fat cells in an average adult.
• Kissing can aid in reducing tooth decay. This is because the extra saliva helps in keeping the mouth clean.
• During the female orgasm, endorphines are released, which are powerful painkillers. So headaches are in fact a bad excuse not to have sex.
• During World War II, condoms were used to cover rifle barrels from being damaged by salt water as the soldiers swam to shore.
• According to psychologists, the shoe and the foot are the most common sources of sexual fetishism in Western society.
• A kiss for one minute can burn 26.                                                                                                   

Other Human Body Facts

• The Gastric Flu can cause projectile vomiting.
• The Dutch people are known to be the tallest people in Europe.
• Studies have shown that the scent of Rosemary can help in better mental performance and make individuals feel more alert.
• Some brands of toothpaste contain glycerin or glycerol, which is also an ingredient in antifreeze.
• Soaking beans for twelve hours in water before they are cooked can reduce flatulence caused by beans.
• Scientists say that babies that are breastfed are more likely to be slimmer as adults than those that are not breastfed.
• Scientists have determined that having guilty feelings may actually damage your immune system
  Research has indicated that approximately eleven minutes are cut off the life of an average male smoker from each cigarette smoked.
• People have the tendency to chew the food on the side that they most often use their hand.
• Over 600,000 people died as a result of the Spanish influenza epidemic.
• Only one out of every three people wash their hands when leaving a public bathroom.
• One ragweed plant can release as many as a million grains of pollen in one day.
• One out of 20 people have an extra rib.
• One average, men spend 60 hours a year shaving.
• On average, falling asleep while driving results in 550 accidents per day in the United States.
• On average, a person has two million sweat glands.
• On average, Americans spend 33% of their life sleeping.
• On average a person passes gas 14 times a day.
• On average 1,668 gallons of water are used by each person in the United States daily.
• Nerve impulses for muscle position travel at a speed of up to 390 feet per second.
• Nerve cells can travel as fast as 120 meters per second.
• Mummy powder was once thought to be a cure for all remedies. English men used to carry the powder with them in a tiny bag wherever they went.
• Men in their early twenties shave an average of four times a week.
• Medical research has found substances in mistletoe that can slow down tumor growth.
• Medical reports show that about 18% of the population are prone to sleepwalking.
• Manicuring the nails has been done by people for more than 4,000 years.
• Left-handed people are better at sports that require good spatial judgment and fast reaction, compared to right-handed individuals.
• Ironically, when doctors in Los Angeles, California went on strike in 1976, the daily number of deaths in the city dropped 18%.
• In the United States, 8.5 million cosmetic surgical and non-surgical procedures were done in the year 2001.
• People with darker skin will not wrinkle as fast as people with lighter skin.
• People with allergies can lower allergy reactions by laughing.
• People who meet their calcium need reduce their risk of developing kidney stones.
• People that smoke have 10 times as many wrinkles as a person that does not smoke.
• People still cut the cheese shortly after death.
• People over the age of fifty will start to lose their dislike for foods that taste bitter.
• People of Ancient China believed that swinging your arms could cure a headache.
• The average weight of a newborn baby is 7 lbs. 6 oz. For a triplet baby it is 3 lbs. 12 oz.
• The average person spends two weeks of their life kissing.
• The average person falls asleep in about 12 to 14 minutes.
• There are approximately one hundred million people in the United States that have a chronic illness.
• There are approximately 60 muscles in the face.
• There are 50% more males that are left handed compared to females.
• There are 400 species of bacteria in the human colon.
• There are 10 million bacteria at the place where you rest your hands at a desk.
• In a lifetime, an average human produces 10,000 gallons of saliva.
• In a lifetime, an average driver will release approximately 912 pints of wind inside a car.
• In Canada, men are three times more likely than women to have seen a doctor in the last year.
• In 1832, in Paisley, Scotland the first municipal water filtration works was opened.
• Humans breathe in and out approximately one litre of air in ten seconds.
• Girls have more tastebud than boys.
• From the age of thirty, humans gradually begin to shrink in size.
• Flu shots only work about 70% of the time.
• Gases that build up in your large intestine cause flatulence. It usually takes about 30 to 45 minutes for these gases to pass through your system.
• Fat is important for the development of children and normal growth.
• Every day, the average person swallows about a quart of snot.
• Eighty percent of 10 year old girls in the USA go on a diet.
• Air is passed through the nose at a speed of 100 miles per hour when a person sneezes.
• About twenty-five percent of the population sneeze when they are exposed to light.
• A yawn usually lasts for approximately six seconds.
• Children who are breast fed tend to have an IQ seven points higher than children who are not.
• Children grow faster in the springtime than any other season during the year.
• Eating chocolate three times a month helps people live longer as opposed to people who overeat chocolate or do not eat chocolate at all.
• Constipation is caused when too much water is absorbed in the large intestine and poops become dry.
• A ear trumpet was used before the hearing aid was invented by people who had difficulty hearing.
• The average human dream lasts only 2 to 3 seconds.
• The average person has at least seven dreams a night.
• Bile produced by the liver is responsible for making your feces a brownish, green colour.
• It takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile.
• By the time you are 70 you will have easily drunk over 12,000 gallons of water.
• A man named Charles Osborne had the hiccups for approximately sixty-nine years.
• The average person walks the equivalent of twice around the world in a lifetime.
• The average person laughs about 15 times a day.
• The vocabulary of the average person consists of 5,000 to 6,000 words.
• About 10% of the world's population is left-handed.

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Prominent Scientists

Prominent Scientists

Albert Einstein
German-Swiss, famous scientist known for his theory of relativity. He lived between 1879 and 1955.

Archimedes
A Greek mathematician who lived about 250 B.C. He discovered the buoyancy in liquids, which is known as Archimedes Principle. He also invented Archimedean screw, a cylindrical device for raising water.

Dr. Brain Josephson
He belonged to England. He is known for the discovery of the 'Josephson effect'. He was honoured with a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1973.

Copernicus
He was an astronomer of Poland who discovered the solar system. He lived between 1413 and 1543.

Dr. Dennis Gabor
A British engineer, presently working in America. He was awarded Nobel Prize for Physics in 1971 for his invention in development of the holographic method-three dimensional  photography.

Dr. Edward Teller
A U.S. nuclear scientist. He developed the hydrogen bomb.

G. Marconi
Italian scientist, lived between 1874 and 1937. He invented radio telegraphy and succeeded in sending wireless messages across Atlantic ocean in 1901. He was honoured with a Nobel prize for Physics in 1909.

Galileo
Italian scientist. He viewed that all falling bodies, great or small, descent with equal velocity. He invented telescope and became the first man to see the satellites of Jupiter. He lived between 1564 and 1642.

Henri Becquerel
He was a French physicist. He lived between 1852 and 1908. In 1896, discovered Becquerel rays, the first indications of radio-activity; later named as gamma rays. He shared Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 with the Curies.

Henry Cavendish
Born in 1731 in Britain. He discovered hydrogen gas, determined the structure of water molecule and calculated the density of earth by an experiment. He died in 1810.

Sir Humphrey Davy
A British chemist. He invented the "safety lamp". First to apply electric current for the isolation of metals. He lived between 1778 and 1829.

Dr. H. Yukawa
Born in 1907. Predicted a new particle meson which holds the protons and neutrons of the atomic nucleus. He was the first Japanese to win the Nobel Prize in Physics (1949).

Sir Issac Newton
He was a British natural philosopher. He discovered 'binomial theorem'; the differential and the integral calculus and the Universal law of gravitation. He lived between 1642 and 1727.

Sir James Chadwick
A British physicist. He discovered the particle in an atomic nucleus known as the neutron, because it has no charge. He lived between 1891 and 1974.

Johannes Kepler
He was a German astronomer. He discovered the three laws of planetary motion. He lived between 1571 and 1630.

Sir J. J. Thomson
He was a British physicist. He lived between 1856 and 1940. He discovered the electron which resulted in the development of Electronics, a branch of Physics.

James Watt
He was a Scotish engineer., He lived between 1736 and 1819. He invented steam engine.

Prof. John Wardine
Propounded the "Theory of Superconductivity". For this he was honoured with a Nobel Prize in 1972 with Prof. Kapoor and Schriefer.

W. Konard Rontgen
He was a German physicist. He discovered X -rays or Rontgen rays for which he was awarded the first Nobel Prize for Physics in 1901. He lived between 1845 and 1923.

Madam Marie Curie
She was a Polish physicist and chemist. She discovered radium and was awarded a Nobel Prize for this in Physics in 1903. She was awarded with a second Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911. She lived between 1867 and 1934.

Michael Faraday
He was a British scientist. He was prominent in the field of electromagnetism. He discovered the laws of electrolysis and alternating current. He lived between 1791 and 1867.

Max Planck
A German theoretical physicist. He formulated the quantum theory. He was awarded with the Nobel Prize for it in 1918.

Neils Bohr
He was a Danish physicist. He extended the theory of atomic structure of devising an atomic model in 1913. He was awarded with a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1922. He lived between 1885 and 1962.

Otto Hahn
He was a German pioneer of nuclear research. He won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1944. He proved in 1938 that atomic fission can be achieved by bombarding Uranium with neutrons.

Robert Boyle
He was an Irish natural philosopher. He was one of the founders of modern chemistry and Boyle's law. He lived between 1627 and 1691.

Rutherford
He was a British scientist. He won a Nobel Prize for his work on structure of atom and radioactivity. He lived between 1871 and 1937.

Robert H. Goddard
He was an American pioneer of space research who mentioned the possibility of shooting a rocket to the moon in a paper entitled "A Method of Reaching Extreme Attitudes" published by him in 1919.

Sir Robert Watson-Watt
He was a British physicist. He developed radar.

S. N. Bose
He was an Indian scientist. He discovered a particle called 'boson'. He was awarded with Padam Vibhushan in 1954. He lived between 1894 and 1974.

Thomas Alva Edison
He was an American scientist. He lived between 1847 and 1931. He invented phonograph, electric bulb, a new type of storage battery, an early form of cinematography, telegraph etc.

Tsiolkovsky
A Russian pioneer who developed the basic theory of rocketry. He is also known as Father of Rocketry in Russia. He lived between 1857 and 1935.

Dr. Werner Yon Brown
He is a director of Marshall Space Flight Centre, America. Sattern Vrockets have been developed here by his efforts by which Apollo 11 and 12 were launched.

William Bragg
He was a British physicist who researched on the behaviour of crystals with regard to X -rays incident upon them. He lived between 1890 and 1971.

Dr. Homi Jahangir Bhabha (1909-66)
He was an Indian scientist. He published important papers on Cosmic Rays and Quantum Theory. He was a professor at the Indian Science Institute, Bangalore; Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission; Director, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research; President, Indian Science Congress in 1951 and presided at the Atoms for Peace Conference held at Geneva in 1956. He had many significant researches in structure of atom and contributed largely to the setting up of atomic reactors at Trombay (Mumbai).

Dr. S. Bhagvantam
He was born in 1909 and was among the prominent scientists of India who gave important contribution in radio astronomy and cosmic rays.

Dr. Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar (1878-1955)
He was a great Indian scientist. He was the first Director General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. Under his directorship, many research laboratories were established throughout India.

Jagdish Chandra Bose (1858­1937)
He was an eminent Physicist and Botanist. He founded Bose Research Institute, Calcutta. He invented crescograph.

Prof. Satish Dhawan
An eminent Indian scientist, born in 1920. He was chairman of Indian space Research Organisation. Indian artificial satellites' Aryabhatta' and Rohini were launched due to his efforts.

Dr. K. S. Radhakrishnan (1898­1961)
Dr. Krishnan had contributed greatly in the field of Physics. He associated Dr. C. V. Raman in the discovery of 'Raman Effect'. He was also the director of National Physics Laboratory, Delhi.

Dr. B. D. Nag Chaudhary
An eminent Indian Nuclear Physicist known all over the world. He associated Dr. Lawrence in the invention of Cyclotron. He had also been the director of Saha Nuclear Institute, Calcutta.

Dr. H. N. Sethna
He has greatly contributed in the development of nuclear technology in India. First atomic test in India was done under his guidance. He had been the Chairman of Atomic Power Com­mission of India. In 1959 he was awarded with Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar award and entitled with Padam Shree. He was also honoured with Padma Bhushan in 1966.

J. V. Narlikar
An Indian scientist who was the co-author of Hoyle-Narlikar theory of continuous creation which supplies missing links in Einstein's theory of Relativity. Hoyle and Narlikar have shown that the gravitation is always attractive and there is no gravitational repulsion.

Dr. Raja Ramanna
A prominent Indian scientist who was instrumental to stage India's first Nuclear explosion at Pokharan range in 1974. He had been a chairman of Atomic Energy Commission.

Dr. C. V. Raman (1888-1970)
First Indian scientist to receive Nobel Prize for Physics in 1929 for his invention 'Raman Effect'. His study of crystal structure is of unique importance. He was also awarded with Lennin award and Bharat Ratna.

Dr. Vikram Sarabhai (1919­1971)
Former Chairman of India's Atomic Energy Commission and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Dr. Sarabhai was an eminent physicist mainly interested in the astrophysical implications of Cosmic Ray Time variations. He also had an active contribution in the establish­ment of Physical Research Labora­tory, Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Management.

Dr. Meghnad Saha (1893-1956)
He had provided a great contribution in the field of Physics and Mathematics. He is well known for his researches in nuclear physics, cosmic rays, spectrum analysis and other branches of theoretical Physics. Institute of Nuclear Physics was established due to his efforts. He was also a member of  Lok Sabha.

Dr. Subhramanyam Chandra­shekhar
He was an American of Indian origin. He won Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983. He is an Astro-physicist. His theory of Stellar Evolution-the birth and death of stars is 35 years old. He is the fourth Indian to win the Nobel Prize. In 1967, he was, also honoured by 'National Medal of Science' award in America.

Bhaskar-I
A prominent Indian astronomer of 7th century. Second satellite of India was named after him.

Bhaskaracharya-II (1114-1185)
He was a great Hindu mathematician and astronomer.. His work 'sidhanta siromani' consists of two parts of mathematics and two parts of astronomy. He had a fore-sight on the modem theory of conventions.

Aryabhatta (476-550)
He was a great mathematician and an astronomer. His contributions include information about the movement of earth around the sun, determination of various physical parameters of various celestial bodies such as diameter of earth and moon. He laid foundations of algebra and pointed out the importance of zero. The first Indian satellite was named after him.

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Some Scientific Instruments

Some Scientific Instruments

• Altimeter–An instrument used for measuring altitudes in aircraft.
• Ammeter–An instrument for measuring electric currents in amperes.
• Anemometer–An instrument for measuring the force and velocity of wind.
• Audiometer–An instrument for measuring the intensity of sound.
• Audiophone–An instrument for improving imperfect sense of hearing.
• Barometer–An apparatus used for measuring the atmospheric pressure.
• Calorimeter–An instrument used for measuring quantities of heat.
• Carburettor–An apparatus used in an internal combustion engine for charging air with petrol vapour.
• Cardiograph–A medical instrument for tracing heart movements.
• Chronometer–An instrument kept on board ships for measuring accurate time.
• Crescograph–It is used for measuring growth in plants.
• Dynamo–The origin of electricity in a dynamo is the transformation of mechanical energy into electrical energy.
• Galvanometer–An instrument for measuring electric currents of small magnitude.
• Hydrometer–An instrument used for measuring the specific gravity of liquids.
• Hydrophone–An instrument for recording sound under water.
• Hygrometer–An instrument for measuring humidity in air.
• Lactometer–An Instrument for measuring the relative density of milk.
• Manometer–An instrument for measuring the pressure of a gases.
• Mariner's compass–An apparatus used by sailors to know the direction. The needle always points north-south.
• Microphone–An instrument used for converting sound waves into electrical vibrations and to magnify the sound.
• Microscope–An instrument used for magnifying minute objects by a lens system.
• Odometer–An instrument by which the distance covered by wheeled vehicles is measured.
• Phonograph–An instrument for reproducing sound.
• Photometer–It is an instrument for measuring the intensity of light; a device for comparing the luminous intensity of sources of light.
• Polarimeter–An instrument used for measuring optical activity.
• Pyrometer–An instrument for recording high temperatures from a great distance.
• Radar–It is an abbreviated form of Radio, Angle, Direction and Range. It is used for detecting the direction and range of an approaching plane by means of radio microwaves.
• Rain Gauge–An apparatus for recording rainfall at a particular place.
• Radiometer–An instrument for measuring the emission of radiant energy.
• Refractometer–An instrument to measure refractive indexes.
• Seismometer or Seismograph–An instrument for recording earthquake shocks.
• Sextant–An instrument used for measuring the altitude of the sun and other heavenly bodies.
• Spectrometer–An instrument for measuring the energy distribution of a particular type of radiation.
• Speedometer–An instrument which indicates the speed at which a vehicle is moving.
• Spherometer–An instrument for measuring curvature of surfaces.

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